27 Facts About Sid Ryan

Patrick Cyril "Sid" Ryan was born on 1952 and is a Canadian labour union leader and politician.

Sid Ryan helped organize a United Steelworkers of America local where he worked after arriving in Canada.

Sid Ryan has been a Canadian Union of Public Employees activist since he went to work for Ontario Hydro in 1976.

Sid Ryan served as CUPE Ontario president from 1992 to 2009.

Sid Ryan appeared weekly for 10 years on Michael Coren Live and CHEX-TV Durham, CFRB 1010 and writes a bi-weekly column for the Toronto Sun.

Sid Ryan is a guest on TVOntario's current affairs programs, The Agenda with Steve Paikin CBC TV and radio, CTV, CP24.

Sid Ryan worked with unions from Canada and South America to defeat the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.

Sid Ryan has worked for the New Democratic Party since arriving in Canada.

Sid Ryan ran for the party provincially in 1999,2003 and 2007, as well as federally in 2004 and 2006.

Sid Ryan is the recipient of the Canada 125 Medal, presented to Canadian citizens for their contributions to the good of the community and society in general.

In November 2009, Ryan was acclaimed to the position of president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Sid Ryan was re-elected for a second term in 2011 and again in 2013 and retired in 2015.

Sid Ryan has served on the Ontario NDP's provincial council and Environment committee, and is a former president of the Durham Centre riding association.

Sid Ryan has stood as an NDP candidate in three provincial and two federal election campaigns.

Sid Ryan contested Scarborough Centre in the 1999 provincial election, and finished third behind Progressive Conservative incumbent Marilyn Mushinski and Liberal Costas Manios.

Sid Ryan stood as a candidate for Oshawa in the 2004 federal election, and lost to Conservative Colin Carrie by 463 votes in a three-way race.

Sid Ryan ran again in the 2006 election, but lost by 2,802 votes to incumbent Carrie.

Morin and Sid Ryan stated that the two campaigns were otherwise on good terms.

Elections Canada laid two charges of breaching the Elections Act against Clarke, while Sid Ryan filed a civil suit.

Sid Ryan was successful with his lawsuit against Clarke and the Judge ordered Clarke to take out a quarter page ad in The Oshawa This Week newspaper apologising to Sid Ryan and his family for defaming him in the flyer.

Sid Ryan alleged that Clarke was working on Carrie's 2006 campaign, which Morin had earlier denied.

For more than 10 years Sid Ryan waged a battle with the provincial government to change the governance of the OMERS pension plan.

Sid Ryan wanted the government to allow the stakeholders to have control over investments and day-to-day governance of the plan.

In 2006, Sid Ryan threatened a political strike after Premier Dalton McGuinty brought in Bill 206, which would change the administration of OMERS but would not fully address CUPE's concerns.

Sid Ryan has a long-standing involvement with the Irish peace process, including acting as three-time International Peace Observer to the process between the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party and the Sinn Fein.

In 2007, Sid Ryan introduced Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams on the Toronto stop of Adams' speaking tour of North America.

Sid Ryan was awarded the Canadian Arab Federation's Social Justice Award in 2007 for his work as an International Peace Observer in Northern Ireland and his championing of Palestinian rights, specifically his strong support for CUPE Ontario's Resolution 50 which called for union members to support the international campaign of boycott, diverstment and sanctions against Israel.